Miss Frost wins Riskaverse

Owner Cot Campbell of Dogwood Stable was hoping for a Saratoga stakes win with an offspring of Curlin this weekend, but instead of getting it with Palace Malice in this afternoon’s Grade I Woodward, he got it in the Riskaverse on Friday afternoon with Miss Frost.

The three-year-old filly by Curlin who broke her maiden at Saratoga last summer got her first stakes win in the Riskaverse, leading her seven rivals on a merry chase on Saratoga’s inner turf course.

Sent to the lead by jockey Edgar Prado, Miss Frost opened up a four-length lead in the early going of the one-mile Riskaverse, setting quick fractions of 23.41 and 47.20. Heading into the far turn, the field caught up to the chestnut filly, but Miss Frost played “catch me if you can,” zipping away for good to win by 4 3/4 lengths.

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“She’s a little funny to ride,” said Prado. “She relaxed on the backside; you can see that she pricked her ears and waited for competition. When the competition came, she picked it up and finished good.”

“Once they came to her, she just re-broke again,” said trainer Tom Albertrani. “Edgar had a ton of horse the whole way.”

Fashion Fund was second, with Granny Mc’s Kitten a neck back in third. Miss Frost ran the mile in 1:34.58 and paid $8.80 to win.

“I’m a Curlin man, with good reason,” declared Campbell in the winner’s circle. “This is a nice way to end the day.”

Earlier this week, trainer Todd Pletcher said that Palace Malice would skip the Woodward and instead be pointed to the Grade I Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park next month.

A $105,000 purchase as a two-year-old, Miss Frost “didn’t really show herself well” at the sale, said Campbell. “She was a big, rangy filly that hadn’t filled out yet, so we got her for what seems like a bargain price.”

Winless in four starts as a two-year-old after breaking her maiden, Miss Frost got the winter off to heal some bucked shins and grow up a little.

“She was kind of foolish as a two-year-old,” said Campbell. “Then she got wise, and now she understands the game a little bit.”

“I think she’s getting more mature,” said Prado, who’s ridden in the filly in seven of her 10 starts and all four of her wins.

“Her last two races she made steps forward,” said Albertrani.

Winner of three straight, Miss Frost may start next in the Grade I Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup at Keeneland in October.

Campbell began reducing his racing interests last year, and he’s now down to about 20 horses from 65.

“You want to get more out of every horse,” he said. “It’s not a brilliant observation, but we’d like to have, as everyone would, quality rather than quantity.”

And as he’s still winning stakes races at Saratoga, his strategy seems to be working.